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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What does Michael Chaput tell me about Scott Howson?

I don't place a lot of weight on the Blue Jackets prospect development system, and that's for a couple of reasons: 1) I only have so much time in the day and don't believe that I could analyze and provide coherent commentary at the level I expect of myself (If prospect coverage interests you, go check out Twitter's @cbjprospects.); 2) Considering the size of the 23-man (max) roster at the NHL level, there are way too many misses (as opposed to hits) to interest me. Which speaks volumes to my lack of interest in the NHL draft, something I'll be discussing more on DBJ Plus in the not-too-distant future.

I'm interested in the wins and losses in Columbus, the Stanley Cup playoffs in Columbus...not so much the CHL major junior playoff fortunes of the, say, Shawinigan Cataractes. Yet, strangely, I'm being drawn into the recent Memorial Cup championship of that very team to further discuss the Columbus Blue Jackets.

(Digression: Unlike me, I think it wise that Howson be conversant in all aspects of the prospect development chain. It's an important component of his job, especially when the NHL club isn't performing well.)
This doesn't come as a surprise to me, as Scott Howson has displayed a history of this behavior since taking over the team in 2007. He identifies players that he likes and wants...and then waits until the time is right to strike and grab them. And they're the oddest players, too: Anton Stralman, Fedor Tyutin and Antoine Vermette to name a few. Guys who are flying under the radar of the general hockey consciousness. These are players where Howson sees something that he just must have.

The performance of these oft-obscure players during or after their time in Columbus vindicates - in my mind - Howson as a talent evaluator. Perhaps I should be more specific: History is vindicating Howson as an NHL garage sale genius. It's a role that he comes by honestly, having served as an assistant general manager for the Edmonton Oilers before coming to Columbus. Yet outside of Rick Nash - whom Howson has only had to convince to stay as opposed to recruit from outside - he hasn't truly hunted the white whales of NHL super-stardom (at least successfully...one never knows what he's up to behind the scenes), so we can't say that his talent evaluation chops are as strong with top level players.

And now Howson has signed Chaput to a three-year, entry level contract. Thus, for all my misgivings about Howson's stewardship of the Blue Jackets, I'll grant that the man has an eye for talent.

It's what happens to the talent once they arrive that scares me silly. I see the likes of Stralman and Vermette impacting the Stanley Cup playoffs in New York and Phoenix, respectively, and wonder why they couldn't be as strong in Columbus. I worry that young talent like Ryan Johansen is in a bad place, perhaps having been rushed onto the big squad because the silly NHL-CHL agreement wouldn't let him gestate in the AHL last season like he should have...something I've worried about since before he made the big roster. I worry that the likes of Jeff Carter - who I'll take at his word when he said he tried to come into Columbus with an open mind - all but quit on the team. At some point, one has to recognize that it's not just an overabundance of bad luck...that something fundamental needs to be addressed.

Which brings me back to Scott Howson. After five years on the job, we're still asking: Can he shape (heck, can he determine) a team's identity? Is he capable of molding a team's culture - and by that, I mean develop a culture that is driven to win and cannot accept losing - or is he just a skill/talent acquisition guru? Can he insert roster chemistry into the equation when acquiring and retaining talent? Can he hire a coach that can do something with the talent that he has been given?

Scott Howson is not perfect. Heck, nobody is perfect. But Howson isn't entirely terrible, either. The man knows the sport of hockey, and he knows a young talent when he sees it. The emergence of Michael Chaput in major juniors - and Howson's pursuit of him - tells us that much.

9 comments:

I think it's interesting to try and draw a comparison between Howson and the on-ice identity of the Jackets.. He went after Vermette, who came in big, left absolutely mediocre, and suddenly was effective again elsewhere..

Is that on the GM to get players to their potential once they've arrived? I certainly don't think so. Shoddy coaching.. shoddy leadership.. There are a lot of places I'd point to first before the GM.

That said, I do appreciate this post a lot. Howson found what appears to be a gem in Chaput and he made a trade that was tough on him at the time. It's a calculated move that I hope fans can really appreciate if Chaput comes into Columbus and finds himself effective within the next couple years.

When your title is "Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager" and you've had five years on the job to lay your foundation only to still be plagued by shoddy coaching and shoddy leadership...all fingers point to you. And rightfully so.

"Scott Howson is not perfect. Heck, nobody is perfect. But Howson isn't entirely terrible, either. The man knows the sport of hockey, and he knows a young talent when he sees it. The emergence of Michael Chaput in major juniors - and Howson's pursuit of him - tells us that much."

I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly. The ability to find Chaput (and even moreso Atkinson) are outliers in a vast array of Howson's complete and awful incompetence. That means incompetence in drafting (only 4 or so players look to be a top-6 forward or top-4 d-man in their future), coach-hiring, contract-giving, and pro-talent evaluation. In fact, the only positive things are some of his trades, but they're so few and far between that they don't make up for his utter failures. But I've already addressed that before. I'm not entirely fond of the F.A.N.S. crowd, but they're right about Mr. Howson.

Identifying talent is the scout's job. Hard to say if Chaput was Howson's guy or coming highly recommended by scouting staff.

The GMs job is to assemble a team, a job that Howson continues to fail. Slotting talent in positions that they are not cut out for is what has haunted the Jackets since day 1 and continues to this day. Funny how Vermette worked as top center with Doan.

Vermette, Klesla, Stralman all have done well in roles that best suits their abilities vs the role the CBJ holes forced them to play.